This invention relates to an insulated beverage holder and, more particularly, to such a device which has a lid and which may be folded up for transport or storage.
Insulated beverage holders are well known in the art for receiving beverage cans or bottles and insulating the contents thereof from rapid temperature change. The standard insulated beverage holder of the prior art is made of a bodily flexible foam material with a fabric covering and has a circular bottom wall connected to a cylindrical side wall. The standard insulated beverage holder occupies somewhat more than the volume of the container which it is designed to hold, thereby making it inconvenient to ship, display for sale or store between uses. When empty, the standard insulated beverage holder will stand upright and neither tip over nor will the cylindrical side wall collapse or flex from its own weight.
The standard insulated beverage holder has an open top so the top of the container therein is exposed. There is accordingly considerable heat loss through the exposed top of the container. In addition, openings in the top of the container allow entry of dust, insects and the like. Thus, bees or the like are attracted to sweet liquids in the container and are known to fly into the openings of containers held in standard insulated beverage holders to the consternation of a person drinking from the container. In very dusty situations, a close inspection of the container contents will ruin one""s inclination to drink from the container.
Of some interest relative to this invention are the disclosures in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,905,511; 4,194,627; 4,648,525; 4,875,577; 5,048,734; 5,169,025; 5,186,350; 5,261,554; 5,740,940; 5,740,951; 5,765,712 and 5,845,806.
In this invention, an insulated beverage holder includes a cylindrical sleeve for receiving a beverage container and a lid. The lid is pivoted to move from a position covering the top of a container received in the holder and a position away from the container top. The lid does double duty and provides a receptacle where the holder sleeve is folded up and stowed during transport, display and non-use. Suitable releasable fasteners, such as hook-and-loop fasteners, secure the sleeve in the lid in the stowed position and secure the sleeve in a position where it does not flop over toward the container top when the user is drinking from the container.
It is accordingly an object of this invention to provide an improved insulated beverage holder.
Another object of this invention is to provide an improved insulated beverage holder having a lid.
A further object of this invention is to provide an improved insulated beverage holder where a lid provides a receptacle for temporarily receiving the holder sleeve during transport, display and/or non-use.
These and other objects and advantages of this invention will become more fully apparent as this description proceeds, reference being made to the accompanying drawings and appended claims.